The Fishing Game
by Fantasy Cat
Summary: Old one-shot from my LJ account. Sawyer takes delight in watching Shannon's poor attempt to prove herself, but he wasn't expecting a confrontation of recent demons. Post 1x08 Confidence Man.


**_Hey all this is a short fic I wrote around November 2004. I think I posted it on my old livejournal account but I don't have it anymore. I'm working on transferring a majority of my old Lost fics I wrote around this period onto this account. It's so awesome to look back and read up on all my old fic works. I'm so happy I saved them all as well._**

**Characters: _Shannon, Sawyer_**

**Setting:** _**Shortly after 1x08 "Confidence Man"**_

* * *

**_The Fishing Game_**

She wouldn't ask any questions about it, for now. She was just grateful to be alive.

Boone was in the caves helping those pessimistic jungle dwellers on a difficult construction project. Naturally Shannon would be on the beach working on her next tan.

But this time would be different. The next time Boone comes to see Shannon, she will have excelled at the one thing she couldn't really do before…

She was going to catch a fish.

It took a lot of girlish flirting and guts to ask certain a man who would seem to never accept an offer like teaching a ditzy blonde how to get her clothes dirty.

"Not buying it, Sticks," Sawyer said interrupting her rambling about wanting to show off to Boone.

Eventually something made Sawyer accept the task of helping Shannon and it had a lot to do with regret. Over what, though? Refusing to give Shannon something he never had? By not saving her when she couldn't be saved anyway? These types of thoughts were meant to be scratched and hidden deep inside his subconscious, but Kate just had to find him out. And a part of him was afraid that the truth would be learned by everyone. By now he had sure angered and confused a lot of people over this…which, he thought, was exactly how he wanted it to be.

Instead of this being a make-up for a bad deed, Sawyer saw Shannon's struggles near the ocean edge in a different light. This was going to be too amusing to pass up.

At least she was smart enough to not wear her sandals while her feet battled the rough rocks and sand. But the mud began to climb up to her ankles and her favorite blue skirt seemed to have chosen today of all days to begin falling apart on her.

She felt another rip and looked around in an attempt to make sure nothing was showing. At the same time, she had to make sure Sawyer wasn't watching her look stupid. It was hard to do both. She could see the smirk of amusement on Sawyer's face not move for a second.

"I CAN'T DO THIS! THEY KEEP SLIPPING OUT OF MY HANDS!" Shannon yelled at him.

"I told ya, you can't grip fish with Oil of Olay smeared on your fingers. That's poison to them." Sawyer's method of teaching Shannon was lying back in a chair with a front row seat to Shannon's humiliation. _Watership Down_ would soon fall apart in Sawyer's hands.

The fish continued to fall out of Shannon's girlish hands at the slightest touch.

"I know this isn't how you fish, nimrod! Where's the fishing pole?"

"Are you kidding?" chuckled Sawyer.

Shannon began stepping out of the water and back onto the sand. It grossed her out how the sand was sticking to her feet. "Or…maybe, we could find a stick and a string?"

"Honey, the only string on a stick I know of around here is you. And the fish don't like the bait you got on."

Shannon's skin boiled to a frustrated red. Returning to the water, she attempted another quick catch with only one hand. It didn't make things better.

And Sawyer could only think about the lack of intelligence this girl had. There was always sticks and spears she could use but the idea never clicked into that pampered skull of hers. If she hadn't had her stupid brother doing everything for her, Shannon wouldn't have lasted a month here…with or without the asthma.

"Can I ask you something?" Shannon called out from the water.

"No," he said, having a gut feeling he knew the question in advance.

"Why'd you beat up my brother?"

Bingo.

"I thought I was doing you a favor, Sweetums. Must be hell having a brother whining about how incompetent you are."

"Jack said you never had the inhalers…"

"Yeah?"

"And you told them that you did and didn't want to give 'em back…even though you never had them to begin with."

"Geez, Sticks. You're brain must be tired from asking such a long and pointless question."

In the back of Sawyer's mind there was a desire to return to the book…his only source of maintaining humanity and civility. But he didn't want to leave her without some form of answer. It would only anger her more if Sawyer didn't take a stab at confrontation. They were both craving it.

"Word is you got stress issues, but that's nothing new, is it? I could've said I never had them from the beginning…and you probably would've had a heart attack right there and died. So in a way…I gave you some time didn't I?"

Shannon looked up at Sawyer. Where was he getting at? "Are you trying to say you saved my life?"

"Well…" Sawyer doesn't want to take credit for anything, especially since he didn't think that Shannon would live through that day when everyone found out about her embarrassing asthma. He never thought that Shannon was THAT weak. Stupid, yes, but not weak. "Maybe you're right. I'm not as clever with herbal remedies like that China doll. Why don't you ask her to make you a shampoo or something?"

Shannon watched the water for the fish to come closer. Surely it was a game of dumb luck and chance. Her inhalers, thousands of feet in the Pacific and now people would look at her like a freak if she walked around with smeared green shit on her chest.

By now, she had given up understanding Sawyer. He seemed to enjoy fucking with minds rather than people. He wanted it so bad that Sawyer didn't mind being killed for it. Shannon's view of Sawyer went from annoying to a weirdo. There would be no more asking about the incident again.

Sawyer watched Shannon and noticed the changes in her face. He got her right there. The look of confusion and frustration all at once was something to savor.

Shannon meanwhile finally saw a fish in sight and this time she chose to trap it between her legs. At last there was no escape for the fish as it continued to struggle. And the wet, sliding, feeling of the fish struggling inbetween Shannon's legs was too much.

The greatest commotion interrupted Sawyer from once again reading his book. He watched Shannon topple backwards into the water and then a shriek erupted from a wet Shannon emerging from the water.

"_**AAH!**_"

The scream brought the beach dweller's attention. It caused trees to shake and birds to fly away.

Somewhere in the jungle Boone heard his sister's yell but he had little to worry about. He could tell the difference between a Shannon scream of distress and frustration and THAT was definitely a scream of frustration.

Shannon beat the ocean water angrily and it became a form of entertainment for Sawyer. She looked back at him all wet, sticky, angry, confused, and full of utter hatred for a laughing Sawyer…

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, SAWYER!!!"

He watched her angrily return to the beach and notices seaweed attached to her right leg. He doesn't move a muscle as he watches her angry wrath creep closer to him.

Cause this is how Sawyer wants her. He would not have love this moment any other way.


End file.
